


I Saw the Angel in the Marble and Carved Until I Set Him Free.

by beastieboys



Category: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Artist Enoch, Background Floatingfire, M/M, Scotland, Slow Build, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2017-01-23
Packaged: 2018-09-10 15:48:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8923111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beastieboys/pseuds/beastieboys
Summary: Jacob Portman takes a study abroad opportunity to Scotland along with his best friend, Olive. He's been on trips before, both for study and for fun, and should know what to expect. But this time, everything feels different. Greater, even. Like his entire life leading up to this point has been nothing but practice. Then he meets Enoch O'Connor, a sculptor native to the country, and Jacob understands why.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hiya everyone ! i'm finally uploading the first chapter of that long AU fic i have been talking about basically since i've been in the fandom!!!! get hype!!! this one, sadly, has zero enoch in it, but i want this fic to build very slowly so be patient! it also might take a while for the next chapter and so on, because i'm going to try and keep them 3,000+ words which is going to take a long time but be so very worth it! also i'm looking for help on scottish knowledge so i can be as accurate as possible so if you live in/have been to scotland hit me the HECK up! and feel free to leave suggestions for this fic in the comments or at my [hollowheart tumblr](http://hollowheart.tumblr.com)!! enjoy !!

Jacob Portman rolls over in his dorm room bed. He grabs at his phone and swipes the alarm away, his eyelids pulling to close again. He unlocks his phone from memory, only opening his eyes when he hears the faint  _ click _ that signals it’s on the home screen. He scrolls through his twitter, his emails, his messages.  _ One new message from Olive.  _

 

_ Meet you in the commons in half an hour? The bus to the airport leaves in 45 mins. _

 

Jake sits up so he can use both thumbs to reply. 

 

_ Ya _

 

He stands from his bed and bends down to grab his suitcase from where he stashed it under the bed. It’s already fully packed, he’s been waiting for this trip for what feels like  _ decades  _ now. An abroad trip to Scotland? Hell yeah. While yes, Scots and Scottish Gaelic have been out of popular use for a long time now, he wanted to speak it, so he learned how, and now he’s going to apply some of his learning to Scotland itself. It’s like every dream has come true. He’s been to Denmark, Portugal, Turkey, and even Japan, but now, Scotland. Everything is so  _ green,  _ holy shit.

 

Jacob walks to his desk and studies the outfit he chose for today (he had to, considering he would be packing literally everything) and smiles. He’s so ready to flirt with some cute Scottish people. And also learn about the history, culture, and landscape, probably. Jake throws on the comfy sweatshirt and jeans he picked out for the unnaturally long flight, pulls on a pair of socks, and slips into his worn tennis shoes. Olive told him he should have bought new ones for the trip, but a foreign country in stiff, unfamiliar shoes does not sound like the ideal study abroad trip that Jake wants.

 

He saunters over to the mirror, taking a brush from the shelf next to it to comb through his thick, black hair. He sticks the brush in a carry on bag that’s laying on the floor. Jacob stands in the middle of his room, turning to look at every inch while going over a checklist in his head.  _ Travel guides? Check. Toothbrush? Still has to brush his teeth. Teddy bear? ….Check.  _ Jacob grabs his toothbrush and toothpaste and leaves his room to go to the bathroom down the hall. 

 

His friend Hugh is brushing his teeth with a strange yellow paste when he walks in the bathroom, signifying only one thing.

 

“Is the beeswax toothpaste working?” Jake asks as he coats his toothbrush with minty fresh flavor.

 

“We’ll see. My hypothesis is the leftover sugar from honey-making will cause my teeth to rot faster, but hey, what do I know, I’m just a bee scientist.” Hugh laughs, making Jacob look at him through the mirror and grin along. Hugh’s got a contagious laugh; the entire hall will attest to that.

 

Jacob spits and washes the foam from his mouth. He collects his items and leaves Hugh to smile at himself in the mirror and assess damage.

 

Now, back to the checklist…

 

Once Jacob is completely sure he has  _ everything,  _ he texts Olive that he’s on his way to the bus stop. Her snarky reply buzzes in his hand and he snorts, shaking his head as he locks his door from the outside.

 

“Goodbye, old pal. See you in six months.” Jake says, inhaling deeply to try and lift his sinking chest. 

 

This feeling, one he’s felt so many times (maybe not at this extent, considering it’s never been this long before), is bittersweet in itself. He’s going to replace his boring dorm room and his subpar roommate, Millard, who never even seems to be around, with the wonder and delight of foreign air drafting through his host family’s guest room.

 

The world around Jacob seems hazy as he walks down the flight of stairs to the bottom floor. He has to cling to the railing to avoid losing balance. It’s like he’s leaving his entire life behind. But why does this trip feel so much more prominent than the others? Sure, one was just vacation, but still, there’s a strange air. He can only hope it’s a good one.

 

The glass door to the common room reveals his presence to Olive before he can even open it. She’s sitting rigidly on a couch right in eyeline of the door. Her eyes open wide to look at him in what he can only guess to be frustration, considering he’s --Jacob checks his watch-- two minutes later than he said he would be.

 

“Jesus, man, I thought you weren’t coming!” Olive stands from the couch, which Jacob notices is surrounded by luggage, contrasting with his single suitcase and carry on.

 

“Chill, the bus is usually late.” Jake replies, the word “chill” only reminding him of how lame he actually is. That, and the smile tugging at Olive’s face as soon as the word escapes his mouth. 

 

“I know, but I’ve never even been out of  _ Florida _ before, much less the  _ country. _ ” Olive says, gathering her things in an impressive way that only she could, somehow managing to hold three suitcases and a carry on in two hands.

 

“What’s in the cases?” Jacob asks, rushing to open the door for her as she moves toward it.

 

“One of them is empty, well, almost empty. It’s for whatever I pick up as a souvenir, because I’m  _ not  _ paying three hundred euros or whatever for another suitcase on the way home.” Olive says, pointing at the smallest case, which is still pretty big. “This one's clothes, and this one is camera and sound equipment.” she continues, gesturing at each bag with her head.

 

“That’s a shit-ton, are you going to be able to care for it all?” Jake asks, following her to the outer door of the dormitory. 

 

The warm Florida air makes Jake feel like dying almost immediately after exiting the building. It’s gonna be so much better in Scotland,  _ so much better.  _

 

“Yeah, there really isn’t anything I  _ don’t  _ need, so I can’t get rid of it. Unlike you, with your  _ dead language--”  _

 

“People still use it!” 

 

“-- _ I  _ will be documenting the beauty of the Scottish mountains while I ride the fricking  _ Hogwarts train.  _ The Hogwarts train, dude!” Olive jitters beside him on the corner of the dorm street.

 

The two cross the road once the regular campus bus passes by. The bright Florida sun beams down, warming Jacob in his sweatshirt as if he were wearing aluminum foil instead. Olive, however, embraces the sunshine, smiling up at it, for she wears a flowy tank and has a jacket tied around her waist. He scoffs at her extremely effective planning measures.

 

They sit on the bench by the shuttle stop, and Olive pulls out her phone, swiping a few things on the screen. She shoves it into Jake’s face.

 

“Look at this, Jacob, people are sharing these outdated Harry Potter memes on  _ Pinterest.  _ It has it’s own separate category!” Olive exclaims, peeking out from behind her phone to see Jake’s reaction, which isn’t anything to document.

 

“Well,  _ I  _ thought it was hilarious.” Olive pouts, crossing her arms. 

 

Still silence blankets the already hot Florida autumn, making the air in Jacob’s lungs feel heavier. He observes the landscape around him, one he won’t see for months. The shuttle to the airport pulls in and the two friends stand. 

 

“After you,” Jake gestures, watching as Olive struggles to shove all of her bags onto the shuttle in front of her. He saunters in behind her.

 

They’re the only ones on the bus, so they talk in quiet tones about what they’re going to miss, what they think it will be like, whether or not Olive’s dog will remember her when she comes back and visits her parents. 

 

The shuttle drops them off at the airport entrance, and the airport line goes fast, so soon they’re waiting at the terminal with two pretzels each. Jacob’s leg shakes as he eyes the gate they will be boarding, taking nervous bites of his soft, plain pretzel. Olive pulls pieces of her salty one and chews them one at a time. 

 

A ding echoes throughout their area. 

 

“Gate 7B, please prepare to board.” a woman with a steady voice announces over the intercom. 

 

Holy shit, this it it! The moment Jacob Portman has been waiting for ever since the flyers started appearing in the language building!

 

He and Olive stand, each with their own carry-on bag, along with the many others who are sitting in the seats around them. They line up at the gate, holding out their tickets. Olive holds onto Jake’s arm, bouncing up and down on her heels.

 

“I can’t believe we’re going to  _ Scotland,  _ Jake! That’s so far away, I can’t believe it!” she giggles.

 

Jacob smiles down at her. He’s really glad she’s coming with him on this adventure. She’s so cool and dorky, and Jake couldn’t have gotten through two years of college without her. He couldn’t imagine anyone better to spend six months in a foreign country with.

 

The long “hallway” that leads to the plane is slightly rickety, which sends the hair on Jacob’s neck to stand up because he does  _ not  _ feel like dying today, but Olive doesn’t seem bothered, which is good enough to calm him down a bit. Then again, she’s never been on a plane, so she’d probably laugh if the emergency oxygen masks fell down. Okay, maybe she wouldn’t.

 

Their seats are kind of close up, not first class, but near a TV, which is pretty sweet. Olive snatches the window seat, but Jacob wasn’t going to fight her for it anyway, as he’s seen what Florida looks like from above plenty of times and spoiler alert: it’s not that exciting.

 

Once everyone boards, the flight attendant’s voice comes over the intercom. 

 

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to your nonstop flight to Edinburgh. My name is Charlene, and my partner Elizabeth and I will be taking care of you today.” 

 

Jake leans his seat back as Charlene goes over the safety procedures. He glances at Olive, who is listening intently, but seems just as bored as he is. The plane rumbles and Olive whips her head to look out the window. Jacob smiles. He’s so glad he’s travelling again.

 

It doesn’t take long for the plane to enter ocean territory. Olive takes a few aesthetic photos for her portfolio or blog or whatever the hell it is. The sun’s rays make the sea glisten. Jacob is knee deep in an audio book, perfect to doze off to, as it’s a required reading that his Scottish soon-to-be history teacher assigned him to read before he arrived. 

 

The food comes; Jake gives his entire meal to Olive, save for the cookie, which looks more like a brownie with its raised, rectangular shape. She gives him hers out of sympathy to his pickiness. 

 

Once the sun begins to set over the waves, Jacob pulls off his headphones and grabs a Sky Mall magazine from the back of the chair in front of him.

 

“Have you looked at this yet?” Jacob asks Olive.

 

“No, I’m not gonna buy anything, so why should I?” se replies, studying the cover of the magazine. 

 

“No, like….all the stuff in here is hilariously ridiculous, you’ll love it.”

 

Jacob slides the magazine from his tray table to hers and pretends not to watch as she flips through the first few pages.

 

“What the fuck is this?” she whispers, pointing toward something labeled  _ Adult Jumping Ball  _ with a photo of a man dressed in a suit sitting on a giant yellow ball with a mustache and round glasses. Jacob spits laughing.

 

He wakes up in a blur, not remembering when he even fell asleep. Where is he? Jake’s eyes focus in and  _ oh, it’s still the plane.  _ He turns to his left to see Olive snoring quietly, her head resting on the side of the plane. Her blanket is falling off slightly so Jake fixes it back for her. She looks so peaceful. Jake smiles, resituating his own blanket before lulling back into sleep again.

 

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We will be landing in twenty minutes, so please make sure your personal belongings are packed and that nothing is left behind.” Charlene’s voice floods the intercom, startling Jacob awake. “Thank you for flying with us!”

 

“Jake, look at this.” Olive, who seems as though she’s been awake a bit longer than he has, points to her window. He leans as far as he can over her to take a look.

 

It’s land. Green land, full of trees and fields and mountains. It’s so beautiful, Jake wants to absorb it into his being. Olive pushes him off after a moment.

 

“You’re pressing  _ right  _ on my bladder, dude.” she wheezes, taking a few deep breaths after he’s back in his seat. Jacob laughs. 

 

The plane takes a slow turn and lowers in altitude. Olive bounces in her seat, her eyes glued to the window. Jacob feels a rush of nerves, half of them excitement, half of them, well,  _ nerves.  _ He inhales deeply in attempt to calm his quick-beating heart.

 

The plane hits the ground with a gentle bump and then it’s rolling on the ground.  _ They’re in Scotland.  _ Olive turns to grin at him, all of her teeth visible. He smiles back, eerily calm all of the sudden. 

 

The plane rolls to a stop and the flight attendants return, talking of the procedures to exiting safely and efficiently. Jacob’s hands are shaking as he pulls down his carry on from the storage space above his seat. 

 

“What do you think it’s going to be like?” Olive asks, looking out the window one last time before joining the queue of people leaving.

 

“Cold.” Jake replies, his smirk filling into a full blown smile when Olive elbows him.

 

“I’m serious! You’ve done stuff like this before, I haven’t.” she says.

 

“I think...I think it’ll be nothing like either of us have ever experienced before.” 

 

The makeshift hallway is sturdier this time, for whatever reason, and Jacob takes that as a sign that things will be better here than they were in Florida. Not that anything was particularly bad, just….bland. He hopes for a new adventure, a new start, maybe even a scholarship for him to be able to study here full time, graduate here, and live up in the mountains and make his own damn dead language. But he doesn’t want to leave Olive behind, so he wouldn’t stay unless she did.

 

“...I did some research on the best places to eat, and there’s one right by our house!” Jacob tunes back into Olive’s rattling from his fantasies.

 

“Wait...our house?” he asks, confused. His host family sounded pretty stern, and only accepted one student at a time.

 

“Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you! My host family was generous enough to accept you as well! I kinda went behind your back and did all the arrangements over again, which I just now realize is kind of shady--”

 

“Are you serious?” Jake grins, stopping just inside the gate entrance to look his best friend in the eyes. 

 

“Yes! I have the information somewhere in my backpack, I could get it out if you want.” Olive says, pulling her backpack off her shoulders.

 

Jake takes the opportunity to hug her suddenly enough for her to drop her bag. The other passengers on the plane look at the display of affection as they go around the two, some disgusted, some smiling, as if they’re observing a sweet reunion instead of the new knowledge that two friends will be sharing the same house for the next six months. 

 

Olive accepts the hug with a shit-eating grin on her face. She probably put a whole lot of secret work into making this happen. And Jacob can only dream about being able to repay her for it.

 

“Mornin’, lass.” the security guard says as Olive leads Jacob to the baggage claim. She smiles and returns the greeting.

 

“Do you Scots really talk like that? Lad and lass and stuff?” Jake asks, lingering as Olive leaves him for the luggage.

 

“Sometimes. Depends on how we feel and how stupid the tourist is.” the guard laughs, making Jake crack a grin.

 

Jacob catches up to Olive, whose third and final bag is just coming around the bend of the conveyor belt with Jake’s lonely bag following not too far behind. The two grab their bags, and Olive checks her equipment bag to make sure nothing was damaged during the flight.

 

“Ready?” she asks Jacob, looking up into his blue eyes.

 

“Ready.” he replies, matching the expression in her brown ones. 

 

Olive takes Jacob’s hand and together they leave the airport and enter Edinburgh, Scotland. The chilly fall air sends goosebumps down Jacob’s arms and stings his nose.

 

“Taxi!” Olive stands out into the street a bit, waving to her right for any passing cabs.

 

A yellow go-go mobile pulls to the side and the driver’s window rolls down. 

 

“Where ya headed?” the man, whose beard is almost as gnarled up as his face, asks. 

 

“Jake, pull the papers from the smallest pocket, will you?” Olive asks, sticking her backpack in his face.

 

Jacob grabs the zipper and unzips the smallest pocket to find a couple folded papers. He flattens them back out. Written in bold on one of them is an address.

 

“Forty-three Cairnholm court, this says.” Jacob speaks to the diver, patting the paper with two fingers like an asshole. 

 

“All right. I’ll pop the trunk and you can put yer bags in.” the taxi driver says, pulling a lever near his feet. 

  
Olive dashes to the trunk, presumably to both stop lugging her stuff around but also to get better trunk space before Jake can even get the chance. Jake tosses his single suitcase in and slams the trunk shut. Olive climbs in the taxi and Jacob scrambles in behind her. The cab drives away from the airport and out into what Jake can only consider the unknown.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jacob and Olive arrive at the home of their host "family" -- a lone woman who goes by the name "Miss Peregrine". They become acquainted with their new rooms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyo !!!! here's the long awaited second chapter of this! it may not seem like much, but this story is only beginning! keep up with my progress on my [hollowheart tumblr](http://hollowheart.tumblr.com) !!! enjoy!

The taxi parks outside of a lone house amidst some slightly overgrown grass. It’s a tall house, and it looks much like most other houses they passed by on the way. It appears as though it’s supposed to be between more houses, but it stands alone, the stone walls sturdy against the breeze rustling nearby trees. 

 

“Is this it?” Olive asks, and Jacob looks at her. He can tell she knows this is the place, but she seems slightly unnerved. 

 

“Yes, miss. That’ll be twenty-one pounds.” The cab driver responds, glancing back at her while pointing to the cash collector situated in the window between the driver’s seat and the back of the taxi.

 

Olive reaches for her backpack, but stops mid-motion, peering up at Jake with wide eyes.

 

She whispers, “We forgot to get money.”

 

“Shit!” Jacob whispers back. 

 

He  _ has  _ to have some somewhere; the bag he brought with him is his travel bag, where he keeps all loose change from previous trips- not because he was planning to, but because he can’t think of a better or safer place to put it. Jacob rummages around in the bottom of the bag before pulling out a few bills and some coins, counting them over and over. He returns one to the bag because it was yen. 

 

“I’m waiting.” The taxi driver says.

 

“Sorry, sir, we’ve only got Euros, is that okay?” Olive replies, watching as Jacob counts the money for a fourth time.

 

“Yeah, but it’s gotta be an even twenty-five euros so I can cover the fee of the converter machine.” He states. 

 

“Okay, this is twenty-five, I’m pretty sure.” Jacob says, dropping the bills and coins in the slot.

 

“Didn’t you work in a store when you were in high school?” Olive asks, snorting, as she opens her door to exit the taxi.

 

“Yeah, but I restocked, I didn’t handle the money.” Jake replies, his ears burning. “Thank you.” he says to the driver before getting out of the cab.

 

Olive heaves her luggage out of the trunk and Jacob takes his in one hand. The two wave as the taxi pulls off. Now they’re only left to look up at the lonely house, separated from them by a winding path through tall grass and a few flowers that are more likely weeds.

 

Jacob takes one of Olive’s suitcases from her, even though she could probably argue that she didn’t need the help. Together, they walk the path up to the front porch. Jacob leans across Olive and rings the doorbell. It buzzes until Jake releases and the two Americans stand alone on the doorstep.

 

The rusty golden doorknob turns and the door opens to reveal a very well kept, young woman with dark eye makeup. 

 

“Hello!” She smiles warmly, contrasting her cold demeanor. “I presume you are my exchange students.” 

 

“Yes!” Jacob and Olive reply simultaneously. 

 

“You’re right on time. I’m Miss Peregrine, pleasure to meet you both.” She holds out a dainty hand and Jacob and Olive take turns shaking it. The grip is firm. 

 

“I apologize for the state of the yard, I just inherited this house from… a  _ friend  _ not too long ago, and I’ve been so busy trying to restore the inside that I haven’t the time to fix up the yard just yet.” Miss Peregrine says. “Please, come in.”

 

The inside of the house is rather elegant. A tall, golden chandelier hangs in the hallway, which is rather long for what the length of the house seemed to be. Jacob takes the first step, his shoes slick against the new wooden floor. He glances at the walls as Miss Peregrine leads them down the hall. An off-white wallpaper with slightly dark, thin stripes fills the space, covered every once in awhile by a photograph of mountains, cliffs, or oceans. Every few photos, Jacob swears he sees someone in them, but Miss Peregrine is guiding them too quickly for him to get a good look.

 

“Your rooms are on the first floor. I’ve decorated them the best I can based off what you said you enjoy, if you’ll follow me upstairs.” Miss Peregrine stops suddenly just before a tall and thin flight of stairs. 

 

Jacob sends Olive a look because he didn’t know about the host change, so he  _ definitely  _ did not give this woman any information about him.  _ Please, God, let Olive know him better than he knows himself.  _

 

The stairs creak slightly on the way up, only accentuating the overall silence the house has. The air is still. 

 

“Olive, dear, your room is the first one on the right here.” Miss Peregrine gestures with a thin hand to a door to the immediate right. 

 

Hanging on the door is a handmade sign that reads “Olive” in warm colors. The door itself is a pale yellow; freshly painted, it seems. The doorknob is golden and oval-shaped. Olive smiles at Miss Peregrine, who pushes the air towards her in a polite “go in” movement.

 

Olive turns the handle, the soft creak of the tension inside it echoing off the walls, and reveals her room. The walls are a soft, off-white color, and the floor is covered in white carpet. A double bed rests in the corner beneath a window that is lined by fairy lights of every color. Their glow is muted by the sunshine coming through the window, which is almost as large as the entire wall lengthwise. 

 

Olive’s eyes sparkle as she takes in the beauty of this room. Jake feels awkward standing in the doorway, but he doesn’t want to get dirt on her pristine carpet. Miss Peregrine has no such feeling, apparently, as she steps right in behind Olive to admire her own handiwork (though, Jacob assumes, after seeing how this woman carries herself, that it is unlikely that her shoes have anything unnecessary on them).

 

The bedsheets are a peachy color, neatly tucked under a white duvet. A few stuffed animals--a giraffe, a lion, and a traditional bear-- sit patiently with the throw pillows. Under the window, opposite the bed, are two bean bags, one a fuzzy off-white like the walls, the other peachy like her sheets, and a small nightstand-type table, low enough to be used as a desk of sorts. Beside the bed hangs a full length mirror with a little clothesline above it. It’s likely not actually a clothesline, Jake realizes, since the pins are too small to hold anything other than photographs.

 

Olive slowly takes everything in, and Jacob could swear she was in Disney World. She looks at the wall that he can’t see and walks over to it. Jake hears a low rumble, like something on a track, and peeks his head around the doorway to see her closet with a sliding door, already stocked with a few hangers. 

 

In the corner diagonal from the bed stands a dresser without a mirror, beside a door that almost looks wedged between that and the bean bag area. On the dresser lies a box that looks carefully hand-painted along with a few pairs of fuzzy socks and a card with Olive’s name on it in delicate script. Olive makes her way to that part of the room, bee-lining to the card. Just as Olive picks it up, Miss Peregrine interrupts.

 

“You can open that later, dear. I’d like Jacob to see his room before I start supper.” The woman says, smiling at Jacob, who still stands in the doorway. 

 

“Oh… All right.” Olive says, disappointment badly hidden behind her false-sweet voice that Jacob knows enough to  _ know.  _

 

Again, Miss Peregrine sticks out an arm to show everyone the door, and she closes it with care once Jake and Olive are in the hallway. She leads the college kids to a second door on the right, same as Olive’s. This one, however, is painted a light, pale blue, but it still has the same handle. The sign on the door reads “Jacob” in a very solid, green font.

 

Jake’s heart beats a bit when he turns his knob, unsure of what to expect, since Miss Peregrine really had Olive’s room to a tee with her interests and personality. He opens the door and feels quite a rush of awe.

 

His room is painted a light green, almost a mint. There are shades over his big window, letting in just enough light to not need any artificial, but not enough to get in his eyes. The floor is hardwood, but a large rug the color of his door rests in the middle of the floor, right next to the ladder of his bunk bed. It’s also made of wood, and the bottom bunk is a desk, wooden as well. 

 

Jacob looks back at Olive, who gives a thumbs up, and he climbs the ladder to take a look at his bed. It has a bear, too, though it looks much less mass-produced than Olive’s; homemade, almost. His sheets are a deep blue, and his comforter has a world map on it. It’s so magical, he feels a bit like crying. He understands Olive’s “Disney World” expression now.

 

On the wall across from his bed hangs a large world map, more detailed than the one on his duvet, with a smaller map of Scotland beside it. His dresser is beside his window, and it has a mirror attached. His box, socks, and card are resting on it, much like Olive’s, but Jacob knows he won’t be able to open it now, so he doesn’t even try. 

 

His closet is much like Olive’s, complete with its own hangers and a sliding door. Just as Jake glances at the door beside his bed, Miss Peregrine cuts in again.

 

“That,” She points at the door, which is painted light blue like the one outside, “Is your bathroom. The two of you will be sharing. I hope that’s all right. I can bet you it’s better than university bathrooms.” Miss Peregrine says with a sly smile.

 

Jacob still can’t believe that this room is  _ his.  _ It’s not anything like Olive’s, and he can only thank her for not trying to mold him to what she wants, like he knows some would have and could have in this situation. 

 

“This is incredible.” Jake says, almost breathless. “Thank you. Both of you.” 

 

Olive grins, showing almost all of her teeth. Miss Peregrine smiles as well, but her teeth remain hidden.

 

“The pleasure is mine. You two deserve to feel comfortable where you’ll be living. You’re very far away from home, and it is my duty to keep you satisfied with this beautiful country and wonderful experience.” Miss Peregrine says. “If you need me, I’ll be preparing our dinner. Please, make yourselves at home.”

 

Miss Peregrine turns promptly and leaves Jacob’s room before either can formulate a reply. Jacob looks at Olive, who’s inspecting his room as he did hers.

 

“Wow.” Is all Jacob can muster.

 

“She’s great, isn’t she?” Olive replies, her eyes drifting across the map. 

 

“I can’t believe she did all of this for us.” 

 

“Yeah, me either. I didn’t even say anything about beanbags.” Olive responds.

 

“I didn’t say anything at all.” Jake says, walking forward to look at the map of Scotland. Clearly marked in red pen is their exact location.  _ How thoughtful.  _

 

Jake helps Olive retrieve her bags from the top of the stairs and grabs his own as well. She enters her room and he leaves her equipment suitcase in the doorway as he heads to his own room. 

 

His clothes smell when he opens his suitcase, kneeling down on his rug. They don’t smell bad, of course, as he had just washed them before packing them away, but rather they smell like his dorm and slightly like Millard’s deodorant, for whatever reason that may be. It contrasts with the almost unnerving feeling that Jacob gets when he remembers this room is new, has no smell, and has not been lived in. 

 

Soon, though, he hopes he can come home from a day at “uni” and toss his backpack on his desk chair and lay in bed, listening to the sound of Olive hum as she brushes her hair in the bathroom, feeling as though he belongs here. His heart races when his mind travels down the path saying it may never be that way. 

 

Jacob hangs his shirts in the closet by color, which is less exciting than it sounds, as his shirts fade from black to grey to blue to white with few colors between. His pants are organized in two drawers in the bottom of his dresser, one for casual jeans, the other for dress pants. 

 

When Jake stands back up from putting his pants away, his eyes fall on the card from Miss Peregrine, but he forces them to look away to the three pairs of fuzzy socks beside it. One pair is a wool grey, another is black, and the last is neon pink. He snorts to himself.

 

Then he looks at the box. It has an ocean with a sailboat painted on it and a small latch that keeps it shut. Jake undoes the latch and pulls back the top. Inside are a few knick-knacks and a tube of chapstick, mint flavored, made in Wales. He pulls each little item out one at a time, after pocketing the chapstick. There’s a little tub of hair glitter (strange gift, but Jake isn’t complaining), a tiny zen garden still in a package marketed toward office desks, and a book light, complete with UV light for reading secret notes. 

 

Jacob smiles at the little gifts. They’re obviously picked out with care and attention to the room and apparently what Olive exactly pinpointed Jake’s interests to be. He closes the box and latches it back up, leaving all of his gifts on the dresser.

 

The card whispers his name from on top of the fuzzy socks, and his hands find themselves opening the seal in a matter of seconds. He pulls out a postcard of the Scottish landscape and turns it to the back to read it. In tiny, thin handwriting reads:

 

_ Jacob, _

 

_ I hope you enjoyed your gifts. Olive gave me quite a description of you. I am so excited to have you both in my company for the next half-year. As you may have noticed by now, I am very glad to be able to share my generosity with you. However, I also like to follow a strict schedule, and I like to keep things in the best order possible. At dinner tonight you will receive a daily schedule. You will also be given a list of chores. Don’t worry, they aren’t laborious or time consuming. But a happy household is one that everyone contributes to. Dinner starts at 7 pm tonight. I assume by what I’ve heard about you that you have about five minutes until that time. Wash your hands, please. I look forward to learning more about you! _

 

_ -Miss Peregrine. _

 

Jacob’s eyes furrow. He feels very weird about this woman now. She is very giving, and she must have a lot of money to be giving so many gifts and remodeling rooms to suit temporary dwellers, but she feels more like a mother in her late fifties than a caretaker in her mid-thirties (at the latest). 

 

Jake pulls his phone from his front pocket and reads the time: 6:54 pm.  _ She was right.   _ He also takes a moment to scroll through his messages.

 

_ Mom: I hope you arrived ok! give me a call when you can! Xoxo _

 

_ Millard: did u take my deodorant? _

 

_ AT&T: You have used 75% of your monthly data. Please reply MORE for 10g of extra data at a charge of $15.00. _

 

Jacob sighs. Some things never change. 

 

He walks over to the blue door that takes him to his and Olive’s joint bathroom. He gives a light knock to see if it’s occupied.

 

“Come in,” Is the slightly unexpected response.

 

Jacob pulls his door open a little tentatively (he and Olive are close, but not  _ that  _ close) to see Olive drying her hands with a peach colored hand towel.  _ Miss Peregrine really seems to keep her themes.  _

 

“You read your card too?” Jake asks, smirking.

 

“Yeah, mine was lovely. She’s going to be quite the host---mother?---but she seems really nice, and that’s good.” Olive replies, feeling her newly dried hands before replacing the towel on its hook on the right side of the mirror.

 

Jacob steps forward and turns the faucet on. He looks at himself briefly and squirts some soap in his hands. Olive stays in the bathroom, watching him through the mirror.

 

“Did you open your box?” Olive asks.

 

“I did, actually. It had chapstick--”

 

“Mine too!”

 

“--and some hair glitter, and a booklight…..oh, and a little zen garden.” Jake looks up from his hands to see Olive’s puzzled expression in the mirror. “You know, those little sand things with the little rakes?”

 

“Oh, I love those!” She squeals.

 

A high pitched clanging noise interrupts Jake’s forming words.

 

“Does that mean dinner?” Olive asks.

 

“What time is it?” Jacob counters.

 

Olive pulls out her phone. She looks up at him with slightly wide eyes. 

 

“Seven-o-five.”

 

_ Shit! _

 

Jacob grabs Olive’s hand towel and dries his hands in a rush. Olive walks through her bathroom door and out into the hallway from her bedroom, Jake in tow. They fly down the stairs while making as little noise as they can, as not to perturb Miss Peregrine even more than she likely already is.

 

Olive stops at the edge of the stairs. 

 

“Where is the dining room?” She asks in a whisper.

 

“There are only so many rooms we can check.” Jacob replies.

 

Before he’s even checked one door, Olive’s pulling him towards an open room by the stairs.

 

“It was right here.” She says, exasperated at their joint stupidity.

 

Jacob examines the room, but not for long; his eyes meet the two dark ones of Miss Peregrine, who is sitting at a rather long table with food steaming from plates and bowls.

 

“You’re late.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know, i know.....still no enoch. still no emma. but they're coming! jake can't just immediately meet the boy of his dreams as soon as he gets off the plane, can he? (no)
> 
> anyways, leave feedback in the comments! as this fic goes on, kudos will be scarcer (hopefully, because that means that you've already given it kudos ! :) ) so i will rely on comments to know if you all are enjoying the fic or not !!!! so please comment away !!


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